Roofing.



R; C. NEPTUNE.

ROOFING. APPLICATION HL ED MAY 24, l9l6- 1,226,904. Patented May22,1917.

RICHARD C. NEPTUNE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

ROOFING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 22, 191?;

Application filed May 24, 1916. Serial No. 99,511.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, RICHARD C. NEPTUNE, a 'citizen of the United States,and a resident of the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Roofing, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to plastic sheet roofing, such as is made up inroll form for covering the roofs and sides of buildings; but it may beapplied embodied also into shingles, roof plates, and imitation tilesfor special roofs.

The object of the invention is a plastic iready roofing which will havegreater strength and durability than the tar paper and felt and asphaltroofing now used for building purposes. A further object of theinvention is a plastic roofing which will stand distortion and changesin temperature without cracking, which will retain its plastic conditionfor a long period of time under all conditions of temperature andweather, and which will tend. to close up around nails or otherfastenings driven through it to maintain its continuity watertight.

The invention consists ina suitable metallic meshwork, such as wirefabric, expanded sheet metal lathing, and the like, which is embedded ina continuous sheet of suitable non-hardening plastic cement, to form aflexible, waterproof, ready roofing. Further objects and details of theinvention appear below in connection with the description of the formsof roofing shown in the accompanying drawing, and what the inventionconsists in is more particularly defined in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a sheet of roofing embodying theinvention, the plastic cement being partly broken away to disclose the,metalmeshwork embedded therein;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section of a' similar form of roofing, the wires ofthe meshwork being of uniform size; and

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectionof a form of the invention wherein expandedsheet metal is embedded in the plastic cement.

The meshwork 11 shown in Fig. 1 consists of woven wire netting, some ofthe strands of wire being heavier than the others to stiffen the sheet.The cement 12 is applied to the meshwork on both sides so as to embedthe wires completely and protect them from the weather. Fig. 2 shows across-section of the roofing shown in Fig. 1 except that all the Wiresin the meshwork in Fig. 2 are shown the same in size. In the-roofingshown in Fig. 3 the meshwork 15 is sheet metal slitted and expanded toform openwork, upon both sides of which a heavy coating of plasticcement 14 is applied to embed the metal.

The plastic cement body for embedding the meshwork is preferably.composed of a mixture of Chinese wood oil and Kauri gum, elaterite,gilsonite, parolite or asphalt residue, or a mixture of several of saidingredients, brought to a paste consistency by the addition of asbestosfiber, asbestin, or similar fibrous substance. The proportion of liquidingredients may be from thirty-five to sixty-five per cent. of the wholemixture, depending upon the kind of oil used and the consistency desiredfor spreading on the particular form of meshwork used. The proportionsof the several oils used should be such as to make a smooth pastymixture which spreads easily without sticking to the rolls or otherspreading devices, and which dries out on the surface in the form of atough, elastic film and which is plastic and retains its cohesivenessbeneath the surface. The cement may be made substantially white incolor, or suitable coloring matter may be added to bring it to anydesired hue.

Roofing made as described above is sulficiently flexibleto be shipped inrolls, and can be readily cut to suit the work in hand. It may also bemade in plates or shingles and shipped in bundles. The surface is dryand hard, that is, it is neither oily nor sticky, and the color extendsthrough'the material and hence never fades nor wears ofi. The surfacefilm is tough, and air and waterproof, thereby protectmg the body of thematerial and the metal meshwork from oxidation. If the surface filmbecomes broken, the inner pasty material will immediately form anotherfilm surface and will maintain its continuity. The inner pasty materialclings to nails or other fastenings driven through the roofing andprevents leaks at such places, thereby eliminating most roof trouble.

It is evident that any suitable form of meshwork may be used as afoundation for 4 the cement body, even non-metallic fabrics,

such as burlap, Without departing from the invention; and the inventionis not restricted to the forms and dimensions of the materials shown inthe drawings.

I claim the following as my invention:

1. As a new article of manufacture, roofing consisting of a meshworkfoundation embedded in a plastic body comprising Chinese wood oil andfiber.

2. As a new article of manufacture, roofing consisting of a meshworkfoundation embedded in a plastic body comprising Chinese wood oil, gumor oil residue, and fiber.

3. As a new article of manufacture, roofing consisting of a meshworkfoundation embedded in a plastic body having a superficial toughwaterproof and airproof film and a pasty interior comprising a mixtureof oil and fiber.

4. A flexible sheet material consisting of a waterproof body havinghard, tough outer surfaces, formed from it by exposure to the air andmeshwork embedded in said body, said body being plastic betweensaidsurfaces about said meshwork.

5. A waterproof sheet material consisting of a metallic meshworkembedded in a homogeneous plastic body having a hard, tough surface anda pasty interior.

Signed at St. Louis, Missouri, this 22nd day of May, 1916. V

RICHARD C. NEPTUNE.

